Caterpillar (CAT) Competitors

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Do analysts rate ASTE or CAT?

Astec Industries presently has a consensus price target of $41.00, suggesting a potential downside of 11.66%. Caterpillar has a consensus price target of $457.20, suggesting a potential upside of 6.06%. Given Caterpillar's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Caterpillar is more favorable than Astec Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astec Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Caterpillar	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83

Does the media refer more to ASTE or CAT?

In the previous week, Caterpillar had 38 more articles in the media than Astec Industries. MarketBeat recorded 48 mentions for Caterpillar and 10 mentions for Astec Industries. Caterpillar's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat Astec Industries' score of 1.34 indicating that Caterpillar is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Astec Industries	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Caterpillar	44 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ASTE or CAT a better dividend stock?

Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar pays an annual dividend of $6.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Astec Industries pays out 26.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Caterpillar pays out 30.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Caterpillar has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Caterpillar is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ASTE or CAT?

93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of Caterpillar shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Astec Industries shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Caterpillar shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, ASTE or CAT?

Astec Industries has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Caterpillar has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ASTE or CAT more profitable?

Caterpillar has a net margin of 14.95% compared to Astec Industries' net margin of 3.50%. Caterpillar's return on equity of 48.95% beat Astec Industries' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astec Industries	3.50%	11.52%	7.07%
Caterpillar	14.95%	48.95%	10.60%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, ASTE or CAT?

Caterpillar has higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. Caterpillar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astec Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astec Industries	$1.31B	0.81	$4.30M	$1.99	23.32
Caterpillar	$64.81B	3.12	$10.79B	$19.66	21.93

Summary

Caterpillar beats Astec Industries on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.